LIVE! Bin Laden's son-in-law found guilty on terror charges

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March 26, 2014

23:03Bin Laden's son-in-law found guilty on terror charges: Osama bin Laden's son-in-law Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who was an al Qaeda spokesman following the 9/11 attack, was convicted today on charges of conspiring to kill Americans and providing material support to terrorists.

Abu Ghaith, 48, was found guilty by a federal jury here after a three week trial during which the Kuwaiti-born cleric had recounted meeting the slain Al Qaeda leader in a cave in the mountains of Afghanistan hours after the 9/11 terror attack.

The jury which gave a unanimous verdict on the second day of deliberations in the trial in United States District Court in Manhattan.

22:44German Bakery blast convict to contest election?: Himayat Baig, convicted in Pune's German Bakery blast case, is going to contest from Aurangabad Loksabha constituency, a local political outfit said here. Advocate Rahul Makre of the Bahujan Mukti Party made the announcement here today.

Makre alleged that Baig had been given a clean chit by the NIA but Maharashtra ATS falsely implicated him.

Thousands of Muslim youths were rotting in jails on false terror charges, advocate Makre claimed. Baig had asked for Court's permission to file his nomination, he added.

In a bid to put up a strong fight in Rae Bareli, BJP is considering pitting its firebrand Hindutva leader Uma Bharti against Sonia Gandhi. Top party sources confirmed that the party is "seriously considering" a proposal to shift Uma Bharti from Jhansi to Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. BJP has already announced Bharti's candidature from Jhansi, even though the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister was keen to contest from Bhopal after BJP veteran L K Advani decided to contest from Gandhinagar. Sources said this will help put up a strong fight to the Congress president in Rae Bareli.

The change of thought has also come about after Congress is considering putting up a tough fight in Varanasi against BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi by fielding a celebrity or a strong local leader against him.

Yogaguru Ramdev has also supported Bharti's case for Rae Bareli and made a request to the BJP top leadership in this regard.

Union Minister Kamal Nath owns assets worth over Rs 187 crore and has declared four social media accounts in his affidavit filed before the Returning Officer in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh.

Nath, who has been a Member of Parliament since 1980, also holds movable assets worth over Rs 7.09 crore while his immovable assets total beyond Rs 181 crore which include properties held through family-controlled companies and trusts.

The Union Urban Development minister has shared four of his social media accounts which include his website-- www.knath.in and e-addresses on Facebbok, Youtube, Pinterest and Google+. He also recorded his personal email id in his affidavit.

The minister owns two motor vehicles, a Delhi registered Ambassador Classic car and a Safari Storm SUV which sports a Madhya Pradesh number plate.

Nath also said he has shown a total income of Rs 17,46,090 in his annual I-T retruns filed for the financial year 2012-13 while his wife's income returns for the same period was Rs 22,93,500.

The 67-year-old Congress leader detailed a number of bank accounts where he holds varying amounts of deposits while he has shown his spouse to be holding a number of shares of different companies.

The minister has recorded that he owns a total of 63.04 acres of land in Chhindwara district. The minister said his highest educational qualification is a BCom degree from the Calcutta University in 1968.

DMK supremo and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi has said that his party is ready to forgive the Congress and enter into a post-poll alliance with the latter in case they approach them, for the sake of a secular government at the Centre.

The DMK was an active part of both UPA I and II governments, until differences cropped over the 2G scam when its senior leaders -- A Raja and Kanimozhi -- were jailed in the case.

The SP today announced a list of 22 candidates from Maharashtra, which sends 48 MPs to Lok Sabha.

The party will contest four out of six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai. Contrary to reports that he would enter the fray from Mumbai South constituency against Congress' sitting MP Milind Deora, Farhan will take on Priya Dutt from Mumbai North Central.

18:50Mirchi lagi? : Whether you like Rakhi Sawant (we'll skip the intro) or otherwise, this picture at a press meet to announce her candidature from Mumbai (North West) scores high on the cute stakes for us.

18:44Cong leaders collar media for info on opposition : Where the Congress did score on, at an otherwise lackluster presser was the lunch -- a huge variety and very tasty -- our sources tell us. Sonia and Rahul left barely 10 minutes after the meet, but other senior leaders collared the press for feedback on BJP prospects and the number of seats they could get in the Lok Sabha.

18:23 @sgurumurthy How is Mallya free subrata is in jail? Becos Mallya did not write to Abdul Kalam not to allow Sonia to be PM, Subrata did in 2004.

18:21Antony, Rahul bungle their way through manifesto presser : As for defence minister AK Antony and Rahul Gandhi, they did not have to work hard to disappoint. Antony did not have the Hindi version of the Congress Election Manifesto, which was obvious for all to see when the other leaders -- Sonia, Rahul, the PM, posed for a group photograph holding both the English and the Hindi copies of the manifesto. The press conference was held at 24 Akbar Road, the AICC headquarters.

Rahul Gandhi, not surprisingly, came out looking very poor when he attempted to answer tough questions from the media. He went off-track on the issue of corruption and senior leaders said they were disappointed in him.

Ajay Maken, chairman of the AICC media bungled his way through the press conference and did not give an opportunity to Hindi TV channels to quiz the Congress leaders. Only six journalists were allowed to ask questions.

The 285 journalists present at the press conference wanted to grill Sonia Gandhi when she supported Ashok Chavan's candidature saying he had not been barred from contesting, but Ajay Maken abruptly ended the meet.

17:29 Amul's tribute to the courage of the two women gang-raped at Shakti Mills, Mumbai

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today hit-out at
Narendra Modi, saying the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate "plays fast
and loose with the truth" and his rally in the state is being
"blissfully ignored" by him.

"NaMo certainly plays fast &
loose with the truth. He quotes me & can't even get that right. Modi
Sb please quote me but do it right :-)," Omar tweeted.

Modi, in a
rally in Jammu today, quoted Omar as having said that Jammu and Kashmir
had never witnessed a rally as huge as Modi's on December 1 last year.

"When I came here for a rally last time, state Chief Minister
(Omar) used a helicopter to see how huge the rally was. And he (Omar)
was honest to say on Twitter that Jammu and Kashmir had never witnessed
such a rally," Modi said in his speech at Hira Nagar today.

However,
Omar denied the same. Omar had uploaded a photograph, taken from an
aircraft, of Modi's December 1 rally last year at Jammu, to highlight
the attendance of the people.

"Taken at 1:50 today while the
state chopper was flying to Srinagar. Anyone want to estimate crowd
size?" Omar had said in the December 1 tweet. "I put the photograph
because it's a small stadium with lots of open space visible. Estimates
range from 25,000 to 45,000. You decide #Jammu," he wrote in another
tweet.

At the same time, he hit out at Kejriwal, calling him a "nautankiwala who can only speak nonsense without backing it with any evidence."

"I condemn this ink attack on Kejriwal. This is the way fascists act, BJP is a fascist party, they do such things! Disgraceful," Digvijay said in a tweet today.

Ink was thrown at Kejriwal by unknown persons while he was undertaking a roadshow in Varanasi yesterday following his visit to the Kal Bhairav and Kashi Vishwanath temples.

In another tweet, Digvijay said, "I am not a fan of Kejriwal who is a nautankiwala who can only speak nonsense without backing it with any evidence".

17:15'IPL 2014 should be suspended, Srinivasan should step down':
Former BCCI president Shashank Manohar calls for IPL 2014 to be suspended till it is cleaned up. Lashing out at his successor N Srinivasan, Manohar said he must step down to ensure a free and fair probe in the spot-fixing allegations. He said all IPL games must be investigated since the public at large has lost faith in the games. The decision to hold the IPL in the Middle East should be revoked since it will further tarnish the game, said Manohar.

16:54General Elections 2014: Key States to Watch: In April and May, nearly 814 million voters will make their way to polling booths across the country to cast their votes in the largest democratic elections in the world.These are the key states to watch. Read

Omar Abdullah @abdullah_omar: I dare NaMo to make exactly the same speech against dynastic politics in Punjab or in Maharashtra. Come on, money where your mouth is.

#KejriwalinVaranasi @ArvindKejriwal@RediffElections

16:23LIVE! Pawar to EC: Regret erase ink, vote twice remark: NCP chief Sharad Pawar has apologised to the Election Commission for his ink remark. He said he deeply regretted the confusion and misunderstanding caused by the ink remark and requests the issue to be treated as closed.

The EC had said that Pawar had "prima facie" violated
the Model Code of Conduct by his 'ink' remark and asked him to explain his stand by Thursday evening
failing which a decision would be taken without asking him further.

Pawar's comments urging supporters to "vote twice" for his NCP, caught the EC's attention. Maharashtra election officers have asked for a tape of Pawar's speech at a rally in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, in which he reportedly asked workers to vote first at their hometowns, wash off the ink that would be daubed on their fingers, and then vote again at their places of work.

16:17 Alright, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, who married in 2003, issue an announcement that they would be parting ways, following months of rumours about their marriage. Read

It began with the arrest of Zabbiuddin Ansari, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, then came the arrest of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal followed by Lashkar-e-Tayiba bomb maker Abdul Karim Tunda, Zaveri Bazaar bomber Waqas Ahmed and now IM chief Tehsin Akthar.

In a five-part series, Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa describes how each of these terrorists were painstakingly tracked by the Intelligence Bureau and arrested by the security agencies. Read the first part here.

15:23Lalu, Rabri lashes out at 'dushman' Sadhu Yadav:
RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav and wife reacted bitterly to Anirudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav's announcement to challenge Rabri Devi as an Independent in Saran even as the BJP today rubbished propping him up for political gains.

"We do not bother who is fighting from where," Lalu told reporters when asked about Sadhu Yadav's candidature.

"There will be no trace of such elements in poll at Saran. Nobody will ask about them," he said.

Rabri Devi also expressed anger against her brother Sadhu Yadav saying there could be no compromise with "dushman" (enemy). "Dushman ko nahi manayege (we will not appease enemy)...people of Saran will teach him a lesson," she said.

Tej Pratap pooh poohed the challenge posed to his mother from his maternal uncle. "He is doing this for cheap publicity...he will come last in the election at Saran," he said.

The announcement of Sadhu Yadav to enter into the fray from the Saran seat as an Independent came as a surprise. He was considered a power centre when Rabri Devi was chief minister of Bihar when Lalu Prasad was in jail in 1997 in a fodder scam case.

The zoo that put down a healthy giraffe before skinning it in public has now killed two lions and their two cubs.

Copenhagen zoo sparked international outrage last month when it shot 18-month-old Marius and fed him to lions in front of members of the public.

Bosses at the popular tourist attraction told AFP it took the decision to kill the lion family to 'make room for a new male'.

Because of the pride of lions natural structure and behaviour, the zoo has had to euthanise the two old lions and two young lions who were not old enough to fend for themselves, Copenhagen zoo said in a statement.

The two 10-month-old lions would have been killed by the new male lion as soon as he got the chance, it added.

14:52Modi plays fast and loose with truth: Omar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today hit-out at Narendra Modi, saying the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate "plays fast and loose with the truth" and his rally in the state is being "blissfully ignored" by him.

"NaMo certainly plays fast & loose with the truth. He quotes me & can't even get that right. Modi Sb please quote me but do it right :-)," Omar tweeted.

Modi, in a rally in Jammu today, quoted Omar as having said that Jammu and Kashmir had never witnessed a rally as huge as Modi's on December 1 last year.

"When I came here for a rally last time, state Chief Minister (Omar) used a helicopter to see how huge the rally was. And he (Omar) was honest to say on Twitter that Jammu and Kashmir had never witnessed such a rally," Modi said in his speech at Hira Nagar today.

However, Omar denied the same. Omar had uploaded a photograph, taken from an aircraft, of Modi's December 1 rally last year at Jammu, to highlight the attendance of the people.

"Taken at 1:50 today while the state chopper was flying to Srinagar. Anyone want to estimate crowd size?" Omar had said in the December 1 tweet. "I put the photograph because it's a small stadium with lots of open space visible. Estimates range from 25,000 to 45,000. You decide #Jammu," he wrote in another tweet.

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister also said he was "blissfully ignoring" Modi's today's rally in the state.

"@ManikGup92 sorry to disappoint you but I'm not. I'm actually blissfully ignoring it while sitting in Srinagar. Ignoring all but the lies :)," Omar wrote in a reply to a Twitter user when asked if he was watching the rally on television.

14:4590 per cent poll respondents want Srinivasan to quit: An overwhelming number of people who have responded to an online poll in a popular cricket website want embattled BCCI president N Srinivasan to resign from his post after the Supreme Court asked him to quit yesterday. According to the online response in 'Cricinfo' to a question whether Srinivasan should quit, close to 90 per cent of people (14524 persons) had replied in the affirmative by noon today.

14:35Who said what on the Cong's 2014 manifesto: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw '@kiranshaw Unconvincing Congress manifesto- UPA2 had every opportunity to do all it has expounded in manifesto but failed -questionable credibility!

Siddharth '@svaradarajan Congress pledge to have envoy on black money is silly. Most black money is recycled into property and is not parked abroad.

14:30SC to Roy: Interim bail for Rs 10,000 crore :
Yesterday, the Sahara Group, submitted a fresh proposal in the Supreme Court to repay its bond investors, while pleading for the release of Subrata Roy, the group chief who has been held in Delhi's Tihar jail since March 4. Sahara has promised to pay Rs 20,000 crore in tranches by March 31, 2015 to market regulator Sebi, which can use the money to repay the group's bond holders.

The SC asks Subrata Roy to pay Rs 5,000 crore as cash and Rs 5,000 crore as
bank guarantee in favour of SEBI. The SC agrees to defreeze bank
accounts of Sahara companies to raise the Rs 10,000 crore and adjourns
the case for tomorrow asking the group to give details of the bank
account numbers which are to be defreezed.

Sonia Gandhi: I don't trust opinion polls and I'm sure that the party will do well and win. We will definitely put up a strong candidate in Varanasi against Modi.

PM: In a developing economy graft cannot be wished away

Rahul: Modi's ideology is to make people fight amongst themselves.

13:45 Sonia, Rahul, the PM and co release rise in unison and open the manifesto. Except the PM, everyone, including Ajay Maken, Janardan Dwivedi and AK Antony have broad smiles on their faces. The Congress slogan is called Your Voice, Our pledge.

13:41Sonia: Cong runs AAM admi government : Sonia says the Congress runs an AAM admi government. The UPA has ensured development for the poor and the backward classes. The 2014 elections are about good policies and governance.

13:39Sonia: Rahul took everyone's opinion on 2014 manifesto: The PM says the discussion about who is good at guaranteeing development. "Development has many models, one is the Gujarat model. But the Congress model recognises there is a need for expanding economy to provide lasting solution to poverty. That growth by itself is not sufficient for inclusive growth, It has to be backed by education, health needs of women, SC/ST and other citizens .People ask what is the record of the Cong party, Congress record is visible to everyone who cares to look at it. We were able to lift 14 crore people above poverty line. We provided an agenda for growth," he says.

13:26 PM Manmohan Singh speaking now as the party releases its poll manifesto.

13:25LIVE! Cong releases 2014 'people's' manifesto : Janardhan Dwivedi and Ajay Maken are also at the press meet. Rahul Gandhi speaking now. He says the manifesto has been a result of five months of preparations. "We decided to go to the people for the first time, says Rahul.

13:18 The Congress is expected to fall back upon left-of-centre politics focusing on welfare measures after pursuing a policy of economic liberalisation under Manmohan Singh for 10 years.

Widening the ambit of rights-based legislations to include healthcare and employment will be the crux of Congress manifesto. A firm resolve to tackle corruption, uplift 70 crore people falling between middle class and below poverty line, a promise to empower women and increase their representation in politics and strong affirmative action in the private sector could be the other highlights.

12:54Modi targets 'AK 49' in Kashmir :
Poll updates: Narendra Modi targets Arvind Kejriwal for the first time in a rally. Calling him AK 49 (Arvind Kejriwal, 49 for the number of days as Delhi CM), Modi says, "In Pakistan there are three AKs who are admired... AK 47, AK Antony & AK49... AK 49 has launched a poll campaign. On his website, part of Kashmir is in Pakistan," thunders Modi.

Latest election updates on Twitter: @RediffElections @Arvind

12:39Cong preaches 'Mar Jawan Mar Kisan' : Back in Hiranagar, in J-K, Modi says, "I was in Vidharba (Maharashtra) a few days ago and every single village is hit by cases of farmer suicides. Lal Bahadur Shastri had said 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' but the Congress preaches 'Mar Jawan Mar Kisan' these days.

12:28LIVE! Modi in J-K: Omar should look at crowd to realise which way wind blows: Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Hiranagar, Jammu. He says the party will bring development to the state. "There is only one party left for the people of this country who want to see development, is the BJP. I want India to triumph over poor governance. Change is in the air in J&K. If Omar looks at the crowd today he will realise which way the wind is blowing," he says.

12:24LIVE! Decoding market exuberance: Even as the Indian stock markets have been setting new records, the conviction among investors, analysts and the people at large that the rally is driven almost entirely by political factors is growing by the day. Pre-election rallies have not been uncommon in India. Before every previous national election, the markets were buoyant. However, in a majority of the cases the optimism did not last even for a short period after the elections. Read

11:59 The SC expresses displeasure over real estate baron Sushil Ansal, convicted in Uphaar fire case, leaving the country without its permission. More on that in a bit.

11:56Kolkata fifth most dangerous city in the world for tsunamis, hurricanes :
One city in India figures in a list of 10 of the world's riskiest cities when it comes to natural disasters. For the insurance industry it seems an ever-more urgent question, so last year one reinsurance company set out to assess 616 cities around the world for their risk of earthquake, hurricanes and cyclones, storm surge, river flooding and tsunami. Read

11:49A peek into the life Atal Bihari Vajpayee now leads: Less than a five-minute drive from the Ashoka Road headquarters of BJP, where the old guard is losing ground to the new, Atal Bihari Vajpayee sits quietly in a wheelchair in his SPG-guarded Krishna Menon Marg bungalow watching snatches of television and reading newspaper headlines. Read

11:45In 2014, Hindutva vs Caste : The question in this general election is whether Hindutva will triumph over caste. There are at least three factors clearly nudging politics towards Hindu consolidation. Read the opinion piece on the Hindu.

That's the cartoon on the Hindu today...

11:36SC: All accused in Muzaffarnagar riots must be arrested:
The Supreme Court has turned down the plea for an CBI or SIT investigation into the Muzaffarnagar communal violence. "We prima facie hold the state government responsible for negligence in preventing communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas," the court said. The SC directed the UP government to give police protection to victim families till completion of trial and has said that all accused persons named in the cases must be arrested irrespective of their political affiliation.

11:29Why Kejriwal can dent Modi's campaign: 'AAP's real value must be measured not by the number of Lok Sabha seats it wins in the election -- which may not exceed 10 or 15 -- and not even by the number of votes it takes from the BJP, but by its ability to deflate Modi's superhuman '56-inch chest' image and the charisma so assiduously manufactured around him by the corporate-controlled media,' says Praful Bidwai. Read more

Latest election updates on Twitter: @RediffElections

11:17Alagiri repents: Won't fight polls, doesn't matter if Stalin is DMK prez:
DMK chief M Karunanidhi's son, M K Alagiri is now humming a very different tune. Alagiri, who was expelled from the DMK yesterday for indiscipline, says he won't contest the polls. He also said he does not care whether brother Stalin becomes DMK president and added that he did not invite MDMK chief Vaiko.

Alagiri was expelled by the DMK as he was critical of the party despite his suspension.

This comes after leaders from across the party lines, including those from Congress, BJP and MDMK sought Alagiri's support. MDMK Vaiko had also met Alagiri over the upcoming Lok Sabha elections owing to his influence in south Tamil Nadu.

Varanasi has five constituencies of which three - Varanasi North, South and Cantonment Assembly segments are largely urban and semi-urban in nature.

The road show will focus on Rohania and Sevapuri Assembly constituencies.

Kejriwal had yesterday accepted the challenge to contest against Modi from this temple city.

Ending weeks of suspense on whether he will directly take on Modi, Kejriwal had made the announcement at a rally here, asserting he wanted to "defeat corrupt people". "I am ready to face this challenge, but I will need your support. I don't have money to contest election. And like Madan Mohan Malviya, who built the Benaras Hindu University, seeking alms from people, even I shall have to do the same way," he had said.

10:09Cong manifesto may promise SC/ST quota in private sector:
The Congress is expected to fall back on left-of-centre policies focusing on welfare measures and widening the ambit of rights-based legislations to include healthcare and employment in the party's manifesto, which will be released today.

The crux of the document, to be released by party President Sonia Gandhi in the presence of a galaxy of leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi, will also express a firm resolve to tackle corruption, an issue that has haunted UPA-II in the form of scams like 2G, coal and CWG.

Uplift of 70 crore people falling between middle class and below poverty line, a promise to empower women and increase their representation in politics and strong affirmative action in the private sector could be the other highlights.

The Scheduled Castes Cell of the AICC, headed by Rahul's close aide K Raju, is learnt to have made a strong pitch for a legislation to have a mandatory quota for the SCs/STs in the private sector.

Singh and his family members have been plagued with several corruption allegations.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urging him to take action against the Himachal CM.

10:03Rupee up 24 paise against dollar in early trade: The rupee strengthened by 24 paise to touch a seven-month high of 60.24 against the US dollar in early trade today on continued selling of the American currency by exporters amid sustained foreign capital inflows.

Early gains in domestic equity markets, which climbed to a new record high also helped the rupee post gains but dollar's strength against other currencies overseas on data showing US consumer confidence reaching a six-year high, capped the gains, they added.

Although the prosecution has given a list of 64 witnesses, it would not examine all of them, said Public Prosecutor Jagannath Kenjalkar.

Salman has been accused of running over his Toyota Land Cruiser on a group of persons sleeping on a footpath outside a bakery in suburban Bandra in September 2002, killing one and injuring four others.

On December 5 last year, the court had ordered a fresh trial on the ground that the witnesses had not been examined in the context of the aggravated charge of culpable homicide, which was invoked against the actor midway through the proceedings.

The $10 million taken from the annual $1.5 billion to Pakistan would be used to carry out programming in the Ukrainian, Balkan, Russian, and Tatar language services of radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty and Voice of America,the House Bill said.

The legislation -- HR 4278, the Ukraine Support Act -- was passed on Tuesday by an overwhelming bipartisan support by the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee.

As in the previous years, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas, which is most popular among IT professionals and companies in IT services.

With the American economy recovering and much emphasis on information technology sector both by the Obama administration and the private sector, the demand for H-1B visas is expected to be met in the first few days of April 1, experts note.

The search led by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority was suspended on Tuesday due to heavy rain, rough seas and gale-force winds.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that the search for the lost Malaysian jet isn't open-ended but Australia won't lightly abandon efforts to locate the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

"Australia is throwing everything it could at the search, which has resumed after a 24-hour delay due to bad weather," he said.

01:50P A Sangma an agent of BJP: Mukul: Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today accused NPP candidate and former chief minister P A Sangma of being "an agent of BJP" and contesting Lok Sabha elections to "propagate the message of RSS".

Launching a frontal attack against the National People's Party chief during his three district chopper-hopping tour, the chief minister said: "He (P A Sangma) is contesting the elections on an NPP ticket to propagate the message of RSS. Perhaps, a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"He is attempting to fool the people of Garo Hills," Mukul said while campaigning for Congress candidate, Daryl Momin, a 32-year-old political greenhorn, while touring across West, South and East Garo Hills district.